Bill Gates Top 5 Tips to Live a Kick-Ass Life

What differentiates an ordinary leader from an extraordinary leader is their life skills. It is a worthy input for the youth of today to learn from the experiences of great leaders. Bill Gates over the years has become one of the most influential people in the world. At 31, he became the youngest billionaire ever and at 39, he was the richest man on earth. Big achievements. Right?

As the CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates always had an influence over the world to invent something bigger than themselves. From discovering ProofHub to embarking on the journey of my personal growth, I have been fortunate to have followed him for inspiration and clarity.

Here are 5 keys to a successful life, taken from his life and applied to one challenge after another.

1. Heed the lessons of failure

“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”

Failure feels terrible, like getting slammed hard in the face. The weather is sometimes warm, sometimes chilly and sometimes windy. The thing is the situations are never going to be the same. We all fail. Neither you nor I can be an exception to this rule.

According to Bill Gates, failure is just as important as success, because it gives you a chance to get closer to your mistakes by analyzing the loopholes, and believe to do better in the future.

 2. One-word to success: Focus

Bill Gates was at a dinner with Warren Buffett, where Gates’ mother asked people around to tell the single most important factor that has made them successful. Both of them gave the same one-word answer: “Focus.”

In other words, success is connected to mastering the ability to focus on tasks (goals) at hand in a world where we are surrounded by distracting thoughts and opinions.

 3. Stop comparing yourself to others

“Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world, if you do so, you are insulting yourself.”

It is an expected recipe for a drop in confidence and not-at-all a good feel. We are probably wasting a lot of our energy envying how others are amazingly good and you do not even stand any closer to them. Making a list of things you are not good at will slowly take you near to your deathbed. In fact, look at your strengths and talents and see what you've got to offer to the world. Break the habit of comparing yourself with others and rejoice in your own gifts.

 4. Get the most from reading

“Whether I am at the office, at home or on the road, I always have a stack of books I am looking forward to reading.”

Bill Gates is well known for his voracious reading. He says he reads about 50 books in a year, that means about one book in a week. Reading is good but getting the right value from reading is what matters. Find a style of reading that you enjoy, use every moment to read anywhere, highlight what you like and take notes. Grab the book you want to read and keep it with you anywhere you go.

 5. Make those damn dreams a reality

“If you are born poor it’s not your mistake if you die poor, it's your mistake.”

Bill has a peculiar habit of reading which made him grow up with high dreams. He believed with a great amount of energy given, there is no dream that cannot be accomplished. He managed his time in a way to concentrate entirely on his goals. Chasing your dreams should be a priority. You need to work hard to turn your dreams into reality. Never give up on your dreams.

 What do you think?

I hope you enjoyed the above powerful tips from Bill Gates. There is a lot to learn from this leader with an incredible vision. If you are a leader, or an entrepreneur or someone always looking to live one step ahead, I hope you grab some valuable lessons and leave a footprint here. Do you have any other points to add to the list?

Author Bio:

Sandeep Kashyap is the Founder and CEO of ProofHub — a leading project management and collaboration software. He’s one person always on a lookout for innovative ideas about filling the communication gap between groups, teams, and organizations. You’ll find him saying, “Let’s go!” instead of “Go!” many times a day. That’s what makes him write about leadership in a way people are inspired to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more.